egmat wrote:
First of all, to be very clear, the above happens. Even the best of us find ourselves in situations when we are down to two answer choices and cannot decide on the correct answer. However, regardless of whether we solve the question correctly or incorrectly, we always make sure that we avoid being in that situation again. Why – because we know that for official questions, there is only one correct answer and that the dilemma is result of a gap in our understanding. We acknowledge our shortcomings and take concrete steps towards fixing the gap and 9/10 times this prevents us from making the same mistake again.
This.
Cannot stress enough how common this is. And it creates a further problem in that it leads to acceptable accuracy in the eyes of a test-taker that in turn stunts improvement. Most people think that higher accuracy means better understanding of a concept. However, I don't think it is such a smooth continuum. If one narrows down to two answers, one has a 50% chance of getting the question right. That does not mean that the test-taker is proficient, especially since the GMAT tends to follow a 2 obviously wrong/2-3 potentially right pattern. Very often, test-takers in the 50-65% range are actually deficient in core knowledge, even though one would say that those test-takers are doing well.
Test-takers (well, everyone actually) need to strike a balance between being confident in their answers (for the reasons
e-GMAT stated above) and acknowledging their ignorance in certain areas. When one can explain all of the intricacies, one should then, and only then, be confident. The moment one has any uncertainty about the underlying concept, one needs to delve in and learn more about the concept. It is often not until this occurs that improvement results.